The Inner Demon’s Embrace and a Fateful Discovery

“Wuwuwu…”

“What—what are you going to do to me, Xiaocha? I’m telling you, Xiaocha is very powerful! Don’t push me!” Seeing the despicable Inner Demon so close, Zhang Xiaocha instinctively curled her small body.

On the stone bed, Luo Bingning held Zhang Xiaocha, who was bound by the Purple Nether Chains, tightly beneath her. She gazed at the girl’s crumpled little face, her own eyes bloodshot. ‘You weren’t like this when you were little!’ she thought.

‘But why, ever since you turned four, have you been like a completely different person? Was it for Hatred Points again?’ Her fingers dug deep into her palms.

With a vengeful fury, she tore open Zhang Xiaocha’s clothes, then leaned down to kiss her.

Zhang Xiaocha frantically twisted her head, shaking it from side to side. Her hair flew wildly, and several sweat-soaked strands clung to her cheeks, which were flushed crimson from the struggle.

[Ahhh… This damn Inner Demon can even control First Senior Sister’s Purple Nether Chains to bind me, Xiaocha! This is truly detestable!]

Just then, a strange sensation stirred between her legs, causing her delicate body to tremble violently.

Glancing at Luo Bingning, who was still wildly misbehaving on top of her, Zhang Xiaocha gritted her teeth. She lifted her small legs, kicking restlessly, striking Luo Bingning’s chest again and again. [No… I, Xiaocha, can’t keep wasting time with this Inner Demon here. If First Senior Sister suddenly wakes up, everything will be over!]

[I must leave this place quickly!]

As her tightly furrowed brows swept over the Purple Nether Chains binding her, she hardened her resolve.

[Ding… Successfully consumed 300 Hatred Points to unbind the Purple Nether Chains and temporarily seal them. Current Hatred Points remaining: 64623.]

In an instant, the Purple Nether Chains that had bound her were once again unbound. She forcefully pushed Luo Bingning, who was still acting wildly on her, away.

Zhang Xiaocha quickly got up, crouching like a cat, ready to leap off the stone bed. [What a great opportunity! Now’s the time!] she thought gleefully.

Luo Bingning lay on her side on the stone bed, her hair spread out like a waterfall, her breathing rapid and disordered. ‘She can really unbind them!’

‘Is it because of that treasure within Xiaocha, the one that requires Hatred Points to activate?’ She curled her fingers, a surge of anger rising within her.

‘Yes!’

‘It must be!’ Her mind couldn’t stop replaying the soft, sweet thoughts she’d heard from Xiaocha at the entrance of the stone cave, back when she was injured from hunting demon cores.

[Ooh…]

[For these next few days, I won’t make First Senior Sister angry, right?]

[I, Xiaocha, will give her the best healing elixir. Mmm… Once she’s healed, I’ll start accumulating Hatred Points again.]

…

‘Xiaocha has never changed; she’s always been the same as before. It’s only under the allure of that treasure that she’s become so wicked!’ Luo Bingning’s eyes welled up with tears, but she immediately stopped them.

‘I, I absolutely cannot let Xiaocha continue down this wrong path!’ Luo Bingning abruptly rose, embracing Zhang Xiaocha from behind. She buried her face in the girl’s neck, gently rubbing against it.

A crystal tear rolled down Luo Bingning’s cheek, shining exceptionally bright in the candlelight. It left a wet stain on her arm, her hair flowing like a waterfall behind her.

‘I’m sorry, Xiaocha,’ she thought.

‘Until the demonic entity within you is stripped away, you cannot leave this place!’

Her spiritual energy quietly circulated as she attempted to control the Purple Nether Lock and bind Zhang Xiaocha once more. However, she suddenly found herself unable to connect with it.

Instinctively, she looked at the Purple Nether Chains on the stone bed, only to see them lying there like an ordinary chain, their purple aura completely gone.

Luo Bingning’s pupils constricted. ‘How… how could this be?’

The Purple Nether Lock was an artifact left by the sect’s founding ancestor, its rank far surpassing all other spiritual treasures in existence! ‘Yet… now, it has actually failed?’

Zhang Xiaocha’s eyebrows slightly arched. Enduring her dizzy little head, she thought, [At this point, it seems I, Xiaocha, can only resort to some forceful methods to knock First Senior Sister unconscious. Otherwise, I, Xiaocha, fear it will be very difficult to leave this place!]

Her small hand beckoned into the void.

In a flash, a small jade hammer, carved entirely from emerald and dripping with verdant allure, appeared in Zhang Xiaocha’s hand.

[Body Forging Jade Hammer: Striking the target’s head will induce sleep, subjecting them to the ‘Myriad Worms Corroding Bones’ torture in their dreams for body refinement.]

She lowered her gaze, glancing at the small jade hammer in her hand, and mumbled to herself, ‘Ooh…’

‘This was a tool I, Xiaocha, specifically redeemed from the System Shop when First Senior Sister was awakening her Ice Phoenix Divine Body. Looking back now, it was truly thrilling!’

‘It was also thanks to Little Eight’s help that I, Xiaocha, was able to raid half of the Jade Maiden Sect during the night and gather enough Hatred Points for First Senior Sister to redeem this jade hammer.’

‘Otherwise, First Senior Sister might have perished ten years ago due to her frail constitution, unable to bear the awakened Ice Phoenix Divine Body. If that had happened, I, Xiaocha, wouldn’t have First Senior Sister anymore…’

Zhang Xiaocha pouted, her eyes misty, tears endlessly sliding from her eyes. ‘Ooh… Master spanked my bottom for half a month; it hurt me, Xiaocha, to death.’

Suddenly, she seemed to recall something else, her large eyes blinking rapidly. ‘No wonder when I, Xiaocha, bumped First Senior Sister’s jaw that time, I ended up hurting half to death instead…’

‘So that’s it!’ she thought, giggling foolishly. Her head, still dizzy, couldn’t help but tilt forward, then abruptly stopped.

Suddenly, she turned around, the small jade hammer in hand. She eyed Luo Bingning, who was now within arm’s reach, and her lips curved into a wide smile. [Hehe~ You despicable Inner Demon! Since it’s come to this, don’t blame me, Xiaocha! Let me give you a taste of the ‘Myriad Worms Corroding Bones’ torture!]

With that thought, her small hand raised the jade hammer high, preparing to bring it down on Luo Bingning’s head.

There was no time for Luo Bingning to ponder why the Purple Nether Lock had suddenly failed. She heard the four words, “Myriad Worms Corroding Bones,” resonate in her Sea of Consciousness, and her body instinctively trembled, yet her mind held no memory of such a thing.

She hurriedly tried to evade the small jade hammer in Zhang Xiaocha’s hand, but then she heard—

[Ooh…]

[This doesn’t seem right, Xiaocha… I’m knocking out the Inner Demon, but what if First Senior Sister wakes up midway? Wouldn’t she also feel the pain from the Myriad Worms Corroding Bones?]

[No! I, Xiaocha, can’t do this!]

These soft, sweet thoughts rippled through Luo Bingning’s Sea of Consciousness, stirring her heart.

‘Xiaocha…’ A barely perceptible curve graced her lips as she smiled with relief. ‘Since Xiaocha is so afraid of me waking up to witness this scene, then I shall feign unconsciousness…’

‘If this Inner Demon—me—is knocked out, it will give Xiaocha much more room to operate. Given her nature of wanting to accumulate Hatred Points from me, as long as I’m still here, she won’t rashly leave.’

With that, she slowly closed her eyes, her body falling back onto the stone bed.

Zhang Xiaocha: “?!”

Her dark, round eyes widened. [This… this is… unconscious?]

[Then… doesn’t that mean I, Xiaocha, am free?!] Her lips curved into a wide smile.

Luo Bingning’s heart sank.

Thinking this, Zhang Xiaocha rubbed her dizzy little head. She glared fiercely at the unconscious Luo Bingning on the stone bed. [You despicable Inner Demon! You bullied me, Xiaocha, so much, making my head all dizzy…]

[Ooh… I feel so uncomfortable…] She instinctively moved to walk out of the stone cave, but a sudden wave of dizziness overcame her. Her large eyes filled with confusion and fear. [Was it because the *censored* was too fierce?]

Her body swayed uncontrollably. She tried to stand firm but failed, leaning forward and falling heavily to the ground. [Ho-how could this be…]

She raised her head, gazing at the cave entrance outside. Unwilling, she lifted her arm, groaning uncomfortably, wanting to grasp something, but it fell back powerlessly.

Plop—

Her small face hit the ground with a heavy thud, and she completely fainted, the small jade hammer scattering beside her.

On the stone bed, Luo Bingning sighed slightly. ‘Thank goodness…’

‘If Xiaocha hadn’t fainted just now, I would have had to forcefully get up and stop her.’

She silently waited for a moment longer. Once she confirmed that Xiaocha was truly unconscious, she prepared to get up and pick Zhang Xiaocha up. However, her spiritual sense suddenly caught sight of Mu Xi, who had abruptly appeared in the corner.

‘Xi Xi?!’

‘She, she didn’t leave?!’ Luo Bingning’s heart trembled violently. ‘Then… does that mean she saw everything that happened before?’

In the dim corner, Mu Xi unsealed her five senses. She tore off her Jade Glaze Heavenly Robe and sat blankly on the ground, her hair disheveled across her face, her lips cracked and peeling.

Dried bloodstains streaked her face, appearing particularly stark in the faint light. Her hands hung limply at her sides.

Gazing at the “utter mess” before her, she laughed, a touch of madness in her eyes. “Hahaha…”

Miserable laughter echoed through the stone cave.

A single blood tear overflowed from the corner of her eye, gleaming exceptionally bright under the silver moonlight.

She stood up abruptly.

Her figure flashed, appearing beside Zhang Xiaocha. Her five fingers quickly curled into a fist, swiftly descending towards Zhang Xiaocha’s head. However, as her gaze unconsciously brushed over Luo Bingning on the stone bed, a flicker of panic crossed her eyes, and her movement abruptly halted.

‘Bingning, I…’

“Ahhh…” She let out a painful, unwilling groan, her wrist twisting sharply to change the direction of her fist.

‘Damn it…’ With a muffled thud, her fist heavily struck the cold ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

As her gaze fell upon the shocking bloodstains on her skirt, intermittent, low sobs escaped her lips.

‘Even if the rightful owner is dead, it’s not my turn, is it?’ She lowered her head, her eyes tightly closed, as blood tears rolled down, dripping onto her arm and spreading into startling crimson blossoms.

After a long while, she rose.

With a numb expression, she slowly picked up Zhang Xiaocha from the ground and placed her on the stone bed. Then, she carefully covered Luo Bingning with the quilt. Gazing at Luo Bingning’s sleeping face, her hand uncontrollably reached out to touch her.

Yet, it hovered in mid-air. Her tightly furrowed brows, upon catching sight of her own blood-stained palms, suddenly drooped.

Silver light struggled to pierce through a crack in the stone, spilling onto Mu Xi and bathing her form in a silver-white outline. She stood blankly before the stone bed, her eyes half-closed, blood tears silently tracing her profile. Then, in a daze, she spoke, “Wait for me…”

Her voice was utterly hoarse as her figure vanished from the spot.